In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and select the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives.
Passage:

India handled the problem of the cat preying on goats, sheep, donkeys and other animals by roping ________ communities in conservation, and compensating them for any losses. An insurance programme in _________ residents of a part of Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh ________________ also worked well. New research _____________ that even when wild prey is available, the attacks on livestock by snow leopards have ________________ been on the rise.